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Amberpaw's Mission
This is the second book in the Amberflower's Quest series. ' 'Prologue "Are you sure this was a good idea, Poppyheart?" asked a slender brown she-cat, her blue eyes glimmering with the reflection of the stars. "What if they rip each other to shreds? What of our quest then?" The ginger-and-white cat beside her gave a faint smile. "I have faith in them. I trust that they'll make the right decisions." "But they're so young..." Poppyheart butted her friend's chin affectionately. "Don't worry about them, Ottertail. We used to be the same way." "The fate of LeafClan didn't depend on us then," Ottertail retorted. "Trust me," Poppyheart said, hoping she sounded more convincing then she felt. Turning away from the image of wretched, dying cats down below, she spoke softly into the sky. "Trust them." "They're coming! They're coming!" "He's had a vision!" "It is almost time!" The black tom and his pale gray companion watched as the mountain swarmed with cats, all preparing for battle. The black tom crooked a side of his lip in an awkward grimace that could have been intended to be a smile, if he knew how to do so. "We are right on schedule. As soon as she arrives here, she will die." "Maybe a painful death would be better," rasped the gray cat hoarsely. He gave a macabre chuckle, which caught in his throat and became a hoarse cough. , "Yes. Perhaps. Either way, she will die. And there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that anyone can do to stop it." 'Chapter One' Basking in the sunlight as it warmed her tortoisehell coat, Amberpaw muttered to herself quietly. "Flower bloom... What could that mean? Will the three events go in order? I don't think they will. Maybe-" "Amberpaw?" She looked up to see Honeypaw staring at her like she was out of her mind. "Are you- Are you okay?" Amberpaw felt her tail bristling; she knew the taffy-furred apprentice wouldn't be asking her that if it weren't for the fact that she had been hit in the head with a rock two moons ago. "I'm fine," she snapped. "Just talking." "To yourself?" she replied uncertainly. Refusing to respond, mostly because she had no suitable answer, Amberpaw got to her feet and stalked away. Her paws took her towards the medicine cat's den, where she usually went to visit Sagepaw, but then a harsh bout of coughing reminded her that the medicine cats had their work cut out for them already, and she'd just get underpaw. Instead, she turned towards the nursery. Shyspirit's kits had just been born, and she had been dying to see them. Strikefoot was just exiting the den, a proud, dreamy expression on his normally business-like face; Amberpaw guessed the deputy had underestimated the thrill of tiny paws and large eyes. Entering the sheltered, well-protected badger cave, she breathed in the sleepy-sweet smell of milk-infused air. Morningheart was rearranging her nest while her older kits played nearby, and Shyspirit lay in an overflow of soft grass, two bundles of fur nestled at her now slim belly. "They're beautiful," Amberpaw gasped. "What are their names?" "The littler brown tabby is Silkkit," the silver queen purred, licking her gorgeous daughter on the forehead, where a milky star-shaped patch was. "And the bigger gray-and-white she-kit is Cloudkit." "Lovely names for lovely kits," Morningheart said, as proudly as if they were her own. Amberpaw grinned, then backed slowly out of the den, leaving the little family to themselves. A part of her couldn't help wondering softly: Will I ever be a queen with tiny kits to care for? Would I ever be able to give up warrior duties for that? '' Shaking the thought away, she turned back to the clearing and resumed the search for the cat to accompany her on her journey. Then a sudden thought hit her. What if it wasn't even a LeafClan cat? How could she possibly find the cat then, especially since they were at war with DryClan? ''Please let the cat be in this Clan, ''she begged. StarClan couldn't expect her to find the cat otherwise. Anyway, the sickness was LeafClan's problem. Why pick a cat from another Clan to come along? Reminding herself to be reasonable, she glanced about. There was no telling what order the things would happen in, so she had to remain alert. "Amberpaw! Can you join a hunting patrol?" Riverstar called. Honored that the leader himself had asked her, though she knew it was because LeafClan needed prey so desperately, she said, "Sure. Who else is going?" "I'm leading the patrol," he said. "Snowmelt and Honeypaw are coming too." "Okay." She tried not to feel afraid that their leader was coming on the hunt. How bad was their situation? She glanced towards the fresh-kill pile, composed of two tiny mice and a stale sparrow, and then glanced towards the makeshift den they had set up for sick warriors after the medicine cat's den had become too crowded. ''Pretty bad. The reality of her mission came crashing down on her. Without her, her Clan was very close to being doomed. No hope. It was all on her. Her and... this other cat. Mentally, she reminded herself of Poppyheart's words. She had to be on the alert all the time. It could happen at any moment. And she would be ready. 'Chapter Two' A brokenhearted wail split the ravine, bloodchilling in both its pain and volume. Amberpaw scrambled out of the exhausted sleep she had succumbed to after coming back from her third patrol of the day, racing out of the apprentices' den. When she saw what had happened, she nearly fainted. Morningheart was crouched over a limp little body in the middle of the camp. The queen's sides were shaking with sobs. "Thornkit... please, no!" she wailed. Nearby, Shyspirit stood with Bluekit, Pebblekit, and Sweetkit - her own kits were still too young to leave the nursery. The silver she-cat watched her friend with sympathy and sorrow; Amberpaw knew she had helped raise Morningheart's Herd before birthing her own kits, and considered Thornkit her own child. "Oh no," whispered Swiftbreeze, coming up next to Amberpaw. Her eyes filled with tears. "Oh, no, no, no... Why a kit?" Amberpaw closed her eyes, trying to block out the grief of her Clanmates. "StarClan," she whispered. "Please, please... I need a sign now. We need to get started on this journey. I need to save LeafClan. Now." Instead of a sign, StarClan sent a disheveled, horrorstruck Thistlepaw out of the medicine cat's den. "Shineheart! Sagepaw! It's Pearfur! I think she's..." He couldn't bring himself to say the word. Quickly, a sob wrenched out of his throat as he dashed back into the den, Honeypaw and Bearpaw at his heels. Shineheart followed the trio into her den. Amberpaw could feel her heart wrangling with despair in her chest. Not two deaths. They couldn't handle two losses in one day. And Pearfur was a mother... Nausea threatened to overcome her. She had to get out. And yet she couldn't stop watching as Shineheart came out of the den, head bowed. Peering inside, Amberpaw could see a sobbing Honeypaw huddled over her mother, while Thistlepaw and Bearpaw stroked Pearfur's still body. "She's gone," Shineheart said quietly. Riverstar's reply was drowned out by the intense buzzing in Amberpaw's ears. She turned around, stumbling and staggering, and raced out of the LeafClan camp. She didn't know where she was going, just that she had to get away. In, out. In, out. Completely focused on the rhythm of her breathing, Amberpaw didn't raise her head as Sagepaw sat next to her. Finally, she rolled over and looked up at her sister. "How'd you find me?" A rueful smile appeared on the she-cat's face. "You were... distracted. Your trail was quite evident. Just because I'm a medicine cat apprentice doesn't mean I can't track a little." "I guess not," Amberpaw said, getting to her paws and sitting beside Fernpaw. "But are you sure you should be out here?" "Shineheart said I could take a little break; when I go back I'll relieve her." Nodding, Amberpaw fell silent, letting herself be wrapped in the cool stillness. In momments like this, away from sickness and death, she could almost believe there was peace in the world. And then she remembered again, and everything fell apart.